SKU: PO.PE212
ISBN 9781776609321.
Inspired by the Chinese Zodiac animals, Ho tailored this book of twelve piano compositions to the educational needs of students in Levels 2 to 7 of the Royal Conservatory of Music Piano Series. Ho devoted much time to researching the animals legends, personality traits, and cultural significance, as well as their distinguishing physical languages so as to capture their musical spirit and recreate their physical/gestural languages in pianistic form. In addition, he incorporates many sounds, harmonies, and performance techniques learned from his years of researching (and composing for) Chinese traditional instruments.
SKU: BT.RSK200139
ISBN 9781789361933. English.
The new RSL Classical Piano syllabus aims to reflect the widening tastes of young people, positioning itself at the forefront of the vast array of music available to pianists, encompassing the rich heritage of music from theBaroque right through to the modern day and emerging composers. The repertoire strikes a balance between a radical redesign and maintaining a recognisable structure, and sticks to four key principles: championing ethnicallydiverse composers, representing genders, acknowledging the history and tradition of piano learning, and enabling students to feel comfortable studying music in a popular and classical environment. The syllabus books are allbeautifully presented, and to the high standard for which RSL books have become renowned from their market-leading Rockschool examinations for contemporary music. Each contains 10 pieces from a diverse range of composers andinclude everything students need to take their exams, including technical exercises and supporting texts for sight-reading, ear tests and general musicianship questions.
SKU: HL.48025215
UPC: 196288133438.
Er Huang was commissioned by Carnegie Hall, New York where, in 2009, it received its world premiere with solo pianist Lang Lang and the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. Chen wrote about the work, 'Music has its own life – for me the germination of any musical work is like a tree growing out of the ground, and the eventual outcome of this life is entirely unknowable in advance.' Commenting on the connection between Er Huang and its source of inspiration, the Er Huang tunes from the classical Peking Opera repertoire, he says that, 'the way I applied musical elements from Peking Opera to my own writing was not really based on musicological studies. Rather, these tunes were an essential part of my childhood in Beijing, and always intertwined with memories of my family and the society I lived in at the time. Many people from my generation would be able to hum these tunes by heart. These days, however, these familiar tunes have been almost entirely forgotten, as the younger generation is much more occupied by western pop culture. This is why, when I quote these tunes, I often do so with a great sense of nostalgia. Traditional Chinese music has a very strong character, and the organic assimilation of something that I feel most akin to, over time, into my own musical language, has become an essential part of my artistic expression.'.
